Orbite back on track with plant commissioning after resolving supplier dispute

The list of items to be done before full commissioning of Quebec-based clean-tech firm Orbite Technologies’ new commercial-scale high-purity alumina (HPA) plant can stat has become short and straightforward, chief executive Glenn Kelly said on Thursday, after the company managed to resolve a supplier issue that had held progress back at the project.

A dispute with one of its suppliers resulted in a delay in equipment delivery and installation, however, the company advised that after settling the dispute, the withheld parts were delivered and work on installing the calcination system restarted early in January.

The project was now back on the correct construction sequence and was progressing according to plan, with installation of all major mechanical equipment, including the calciner and decomposer, now completed.

"Although the supplier dispute meant we were not able to commence operations prior to year-end, we are back on track towards completion as per schedule. We are very pleased with how commissioning of the various plant systems is progressing to date, and are confident of successfully completing the final steps prior to commencing commercial production this quarter,” Kelly stated.

The project involves the conversion of an HPA pilot plant into a state-of-the-art full-scale one-ton-a-day HPA facility, although the facility is expected to reach 3 t/d of HPA within 12 months of its commissioning without requiring further significant capital expenditure.

Orbite had also completed the basic engineering for a proposed smelter-grade alumina production plant that would use clay mined from its Grande-Vallee deposit, located in the Francophone province.

Orbite's patent portfolio contained 15 intellectual property families, including 22 patents and 102 pending patent applications in 11 different countries and regions.